Karrimor International Mountain Marathon
Dads Defend Title
Rob / 26.10.2003
On the victory podium Steve Birkinshaw lifted the KIMM Elite trophy (something he’s now done 5 times), as his partner Morgan Donnelly had his hands full – he was holding his new son Hamish. There were shouts of “Where’s yours Steve?� as his son is only 2 weeks old. But parenthood had not slowed the defending champions down, they’d stayed well ahead throughout the second day, gaining on the two pairs chasing them and eventually winning by a 25 minute margin. Sunday’s course had taken them longer than the planners had expected (6 hours and 5 minutes), and they’d had no idea how close the opposition were. “It’s hard being out at the front,� said Birkinshaw, “you really have little idea how well you are doing. The first half today was pleasant country, and on the whole it was much more runnable than yesterday.�
As soon as he’d finished the planner John Tully checked which route he’d taken and they looked over the map together. Morgan Donnelly didn’t join in, he’d left all the navigation to his partner. “Steve’s the man,� he said, “I just follow him. If I was navigating we might not be here now.�
During the day the closest battles in the Elite class were taking place behind them. Mark Seddon and John Hunt had been running with Simon Bourne and Bjorn Rydvall much of the day. “We thought we’d never shake them,� said Seddon. “We were taking different routes to checkpoints, but kept arriving at the same time. It was only after we crossed the main road, two thirds of the way through the day, that we pulled away.� Second was Hunt’s highest finish position and Seddon commented, “He’s really strong, and could have kept up with the leaders I think. I’m just not fit enough this year, it’s as simple as that.�
Rydvall was delighted to finish the KIMM after 2 failed attempts and he was the stronger runner in his pairing. “Bjorn is a superstar,� said Bourne, “he’s got most of the gear in his pack. After Mark and John dropped us it was so painful, but it’s great to be in the top 3. Fantastic.� As it turned out they did need to push hard as next across the line, just 5 minutes behind them, were Mark Hartell and Tim Laney, who’d set the quickest time of the day. They’d gained 15 minutes on Bourne and Rydvall and moved up to 4th, pushing Alec Keith and Adrian Davis back to 5th.
Ifor and Alun Powell took 6th place and looked totally exhausted, and in 7th were Gary Tompsett and Paul Currant. “Getting into the KIMM prize giving is a bit of a lifetime ambition for me, and I wondered if I’d do it. And Paul has been amazing. This is his first KIMM, but he’s been an Mtb and playboat champion so he know how to race competitively.�
[At the time of writing no mixed or ladies teams had completed the Elite course. Full results of all the courses are on the KIMM website.]See All Event Posts
